Guest Column: Congressional districts are not logical

Oded Zmora Community Press Guest Columnist

When cutting a birthday cake we try to give all the kids equal size pieces. The simplest way is to use a straight knife. Each piece looks more or less the same, which decreases the chance that a guest will complain about getting a smaller piece. This simple method of division has apparently not reached the state house. When one looks at the map of congressional districts, one has to wonder what sort of mathematics was at work.

The congressional districts have the most irregular borders seen on the map of the earth. The 2nd District covers Pike, Highland, Brown, Adams and Clermont counties. It also has an enclave in Hamilton County. Madeira is in it. Indian Hill, to the east of it isn't. Indeed the 2nd District reaches all the way west to Mount Healthy. The first district manages to cover some of Hamilton County, squeeze through a corridor about two miles wide and then suddenly expand and cover most of Warren County. In the 11th District Akron is disconnected from its surroundings and connected through a narrow neck to Cleveland. The 6th District starts at the southern border of the state across from Huntington, West Virginia, and extends all the way to Youngstown.

It's not that our state legislatures don't know how to do math. They do it very well. This practice of drawing up strange maps, otherwise known as gerrymandering, has been practiced for 200 years in this country. It is practiced both by Republicans and Democrats. The party leaders are trying to make sure the districts are divided in a way which will help their party stay in power. They are trying to eat the cake and keep it all to themselves.

What happens is that instead of having a government for the people, by the people we are stuck with a government for the parties, by the parties. The possibility of real debate and possible change becomes impossible. The minorities in each district or state feel their votes don't count and they have no chance of changing government. The elected officials don't represent the interests of all their constituents. How can U.S. Rep. Wenstrup represent the farmer in Pike County and the urban population of Mount Healthy 100 miles away? If the ruling parties would take a moral stance and make the map more logical, government would improve. Instead of talking to the interest groups controlling each party, the representatives would have to communicate with a bigger, more diverse audience - the voters.

You can have a look at the congressional district map at http://bit.ly/SFSZRU. Let your state representative know what you think about it, whether it looks logical or not.

Oded Zmora lives in Pierce Township.

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Guest Column: Congressional districts are not logical

When cutting a birthday cake we try to give all the kids equal size pieces. The simplest way is to use a straight knife. Each piece looks more or less the same, which decreases the chance that a